Saatva Rx Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Is the Saatva Rx a Good Mattress?

The Saatva Rx is a new mattress from Saatva with an innovative new coil unit designed to maximize support and conformance. Saatva presents this as the “best mattress for chronic back and joint conditions,” and while we’re not totally sure that we agree with these claims, we do think it offers a unique sense of alignment and support.

The secret is in the construction of the mattress. Most pocket spring mattresses on the market are built in similar ways. These start with an independently-encased coil unit and then layer sheets of various foams and fabric on top of this to add comfort. And while this can be a great approach, these sheets of foam and fabric connect the pocket springs together and can actually limit the ability of these to work independently of one another.

The Saatva Rx is built in a different way. Rather than using a uniform sheet of foam directly over the pocket springs, the Saatva Rx uses independently-encased “Rx Foam Modules” over each and every coil. This means that each independent spring has its own independent foam cushion. This allows these springs to flex more (and conform to your body better) than you might see with typical pocket spring designs. It also uses very small coils in the comfort layer (ie, microcoils) to allow for even more conformance and support.

We found the Saatva Rx to be close to a Firm in feel, though with more cushioning depth than what we’d typically expect from a Firm mattress. This is particularly noticeable for side sleepers, where we noted a deeper contour and more of a “sleeping-in-the-mattress” sensation than we typically expect with Firm models. And yet, despite this slight sense of “sleeping-in-the-mattress,” we also thought that it was very supportive for back and stomach sleepers.

We also thought the Saatva Rx had excellent edge support. The firm, narrow-diameter edge coils create an edge that is solid and functional in both reclining and seating positions. We were also impressed with motion isolation. The combination of independently-encased coils and the unique “foam modules” were very effective in isolating movement whilst retaining a healthy amount of localized bounce.

On the whole, we think this would be a great option for average and above average-sized sleepers looking for conformance with firm underlying support. The unique construction allows the Saatva Rx to balance contour and cushioning depth in a way that most "traditional" constructions aren't able to match. The foams used also appear to be high-quality and durable. The independently-encased foam modules are made from “latex-like” foam, which is typically a category of foam that performs well over many years.

Bottom Line: Who is the Best Match for the Saatva Rx?

BEST if you:

• Prefer a firmer overall feel
• Are an average to above average-sized person
• Are looking for a mattress with a lot of conformance
• Are a lighter back or stomach sleeper or a larger side-sleeper

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Are a very light-weight side-sleeper
• Are looking for a mattress with a lot of memory feel

Comfort and Feel

The “feel” characteristics of a mattress cannot be universally better or worse. They can only be more or less desirable to you, based on your personal preferences. For this reason, we call these “preference-based” attributes. Our ratings here are based on objective measurements that we apply to a consistent scale for products from all brands.

Softness ( what’s this )

Keep in mind that what mattress companies call “firm” or “soft” is relative and varies between manufacturers. Mattresses are designed to be supportive and promote healthy spinal alignment, however, different people tend to have different preferences for overall softness.

We found the Saatva Rx to be somewhat firm relative to most other mattresses on the market. Despite some soft comfort materials, the overall sense of the mattress is firm. This likely due to the relatively firm underlying coil unit.

Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

Cushioning depth refers to how deeply you sink into the mattress. Some brands will talk about a feeling of "sleeping-on" a mattress vs a feeling of "sleeping-in" a mattress, and this typically refers to cushioning depth. More cushioning depth means more conformance and more of a cradled or "hugged" sensation. The Saatva Rx has more cushioning depth than you might expect from a firm mattress. This allows for a unique combination of firm support and considerable conformance, as you can see in the image below.

Memory Feel

Memory feel refers to how quickly a mattress recovers its shape after being compressed. A mattress with a lot of memory feel will have a much slower recovery after compression. This is often noticed by sleepers in repositioning.

The Saatva Rx has a very slight amount of memory feel due to the memory foam "crown" in the center third and the small amount of memory foam we noticed in the quilt layer.

Bounce

Responsiveness also translates into bounce, and with most innerspring mattresses, you'll get a good bit of it.

The Saatva Rx has a moderate amount of localized bounce. The underlying coils are responsive and substantial, and this translates to a healthy amount of bounce.

Back Support

The key to good back support is for the mattress to support your spine in a “neutral” position while you sleep, meaning that the shape of your spine is roughly the same as when you're standing. The ability of any given mattress to do this will vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight, body shape, and preferred sleep position(s).

In our evaluations, the Saatva Rx mattress performed very well for our tester in most sleeping positions.

Spinal Alignment

The key to good back support is maintaining proper spinal alignment while you sleep. This means that the mattress should hold your spine in roughly the same position it's in when you're standing. The ability of a given mattress to do this will generally depend on your weight, sleep position, and body shape.

Here is how we break down the spinal alignment of the Saatva Rx mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our tester really enjoyed the Saatva Rx in this position. The soft quilt foams and firm underlying coil unit provided just the right amount of comfort and support.

Side Sleepers:

In our evaluation, the Saatva Rx performed well for side-sleeping, though we might caution very light side-sleepers in this position.

Stomach Sleepers:

We also felt that most stomach sleepers would do well on this mattress. For stomach sleeping, a firmer mattress is generally needed to support the hips from sinking too far and creating discomfort in the low back.

Pressure Relief

Inadequate pressure relief from your mattress results in “pressure points,” which can be a source of pain, soreness, loss of circulation, restlessness, and other problems. Pressure relief requirements will vary be sleeper, with side sleepers needing the most. Likewise, the amount of pressure relief that a given mattress provides will also vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight and body shape.

Overall, we found that the Saatva Rx didn't perform quite as well as many other mattresses in terms of pressure relief for side-sleeping. This is likely due to the fact that the mattress is relatively firm despite the unique construction. It also doesn't use a lot of specialty foams (like memory foam) that we typically associate with exceptional pressure relief. That said, we'd still say that the scores above are good.

Performance Features

With the “features” of a mattress, performance will tend to be consistent across all sleepers – without regards to your body type or preferences. However, these attributes have differing levels of importance to each sleeper, which is why we consider them “priority-based” characteristics.

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

If you are easily disturbed by a partner's movements in bed, or perhaps you and your partner go to bed and get up at different times, then motion isolation may be a priority for you. Generally speaking, pocket spring and all-foam mattresses tend to perform best here.The Saatva Rx performed very well in this metric. There is a tiny bit of motion transfer from the quilt, but on the whole, we thought motion isolation was excellent.

Temperature ( what’s this )

The Saatva Rx also performed well in terms of temperature regulation.There's very little in the way of material that we'd typically associate with heat retention, as the mattress is mostly poly foam, latex-like foam, and various kinds of pocket springs.If overheating in bed is an issue for you, we think this would be a very good choice.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

Edge support is important if you like to sit on the side of the bed, or if you tend to sleep along the edge. We found the Saatva Rx mattress to be excellent in this respect. Our tester felt very stable both sitting and laying right on the edge. He didn't feel like he was rolling off at all.

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

If you tend to move and change positions a lot over the course of a night, ease of repositioning will be a priority for you. The Saatva Rx also performed well in this area. Our tester had no trouble at all moving around or rolling into another position.

Green Features ( what’s this )

For mattress shoppers concerned with the use of natural materials, sustainable manufacturing practices or the like, we offer our subjective evaluation of any efforts taken by the company to make the mattress more green, healthy, or safe.While we wouldn't call the Saatva Rx a "Green Mattress" by any means, it is made with both organic cotton and recycled steel.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

We look at three things when testing a mattress on an adjustable base.First, will using an adjustable base harm the mattress? In the case of the Saatva Rx, the answer is no. The Saatva Rx's unique construction is still, at it's core, a pocket spring design. These perform very well on adjustable surfaces.Next, we look at conformance. How closely did the bed hug the curves of the base as it is raised and lowered? The Saatva Rx did a good job in this aspect. We did notice a bit of a gap between the mattress and foundation when the head of the bed was raised, but this is very common with thicker mattresses.Lastly we look at the cover and what happens when the bed is in an articulated position. We did notice some slight wrinkling of the quilted cover when the head of the bed was raised, though again, this is normal for many mattresses and isn't typically noticed by sleepers.Overall, we would say that the performance on our adjustable base was pretty good.

Materials & Construction

What's in the Saatva Rx Mattress?

The Saatva Rx is a pocket spring mattress comprising roughly seven overall layers.

• 1.5" quilted cover (w/ "Lumbar Zone Quilting" and "1/2" memory foam crown")
• 0.75” poly foam ("high-density foam") in the first foam layer
• 1" microcoils ("1628 count microcoils with stronger coils in center")
• 0.75” poly foam ("high-density foam") in the second foam layer
• 2" latex-like foam over pocket springs ("Rx Foam Modules")
• 8” pocket springs (578 count "Therapeutic Support Core") w/ coil edge
• 1" eco non-woven base layer (note - this was actually poly foam in our model)

The Saatva Rx is a relatively unique construction.

At the top of the mattress we have a traditional quilted cover with a tighter stitch pattern and a half an inch of memory foam in the center third. Both of these features are designed to provide a bit of extra support to the center third of the mattress. The next layers are two 3/4" sheets of poly foam with a layer of 1" microcoils in between them. These microcoils also have some reinforcement in the center third via stronger coils in this area. (Note - Saatva states that the poly foam used in these layers is "high-density," though we have not seen a density measurement on these layers and can't comment if they meet our own internal criteria for what constitutes an HD poly foam.)

After these initial layers, we have the Saatva Rx's unique "Therapeutic Support Core" with "Rx Foam Modules." These are independently-encased coils with similarly independently-encased foam cushions attached to them. If you're familiar with mattress terminology, these independently-encased foam cushions effectively function as the transition layer in this mattress. The coil unit also has a perimeter support of slightly firmer, narrower coils with similar foam modules. All of these foam modules are made of "latex-like" foam with added graphite and phase-change material, and while we haven't seen a density measurement on this layer either, we can say that latex-like foams are typically high density and high quality materials.

Durability, Warranty & Value

The “value” of any mattress is both subjective and personal – reflecting how well it meets that person’s unique sleep needs and preferences, relative to their budget. As a result, our ratings in this area are focused on more objective factors like quality and longevity.

How Much Does a Saatva Rx Cost?

Prices shown are list prices. Remember that GoodBed keeps our site current with the best available discounts on online mattresses, many of which are exclusive discounts for our readers.

What Are You Getting?

The Saatva Rx is a pocket spring mattress with an innovative new coil design that combines firm support and a lot of conformance. The combination of these two things is relatively unique in mattresses, and could be a great fit for side and combination sleepers.

How Long Will the Saatva Rx Last?

When it comes to estimating the comfort lifespan of a mattress, we can use foam density as our best, albeit imperfect, predictor of how long a foam will retain its shape and resiliency.

In the case of the Saatva Rx, we haven't seen exact densities on the poly foam layers. That said, we expect the pocket springs and microcoils both to be very durable. We also expect the latex-like foam used in the "foam modules" to be quite durable. While it's tough to put an exact estimate on the longevity of this mattress in terms of years (and this will vary somewhat with use), we'd expect the Saatva Rx to perform better than the average mattress.

Overall Value

We thought that the Saatva Rx compares very well to most other options on the market. Microcoils and latex-like foams are both high quality.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: Full coverage to two years; pro-rated after this
• Indentation Coverage: 1.5” and above with some exclusions

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest complaints about any mattress from consumers regards body impressions — the inability of a mattress to spring back, eventually creating a low spot/sinkhole in the mattress. As such, mattress warranties all contain a term defining how big a sag or ‘body impression’ (measured when no one is on the mattress) is considered a defect, and thus covered under the warranty.

The industry standard for hybrid and innerspring mattresses is 1.5". This is exactly what Saatva has chosen to cover as well. For the first two years they offer full coverage with replacement of your mattress. After this, they offer various options including repair of the current mattress or replacement at a discounted rate. Also note that defects and warranty claims may incur a processing fee after the initial two year period.

You read the fine print on this here: Saatva Warranty Policy.

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free in-home delivery and setup

Saatva offers free white glove delivery and in-home setup. You can read the details here.

Returns

• 365-night trial period
• $99 refund processing fee

Saatva offers a 365-night trial period. You can read the details here.